Sympathy For The Devil
by Tyramir
Summary: Left out in the cold, back alleys of Treno, Lani hears the story of Amarant's past. One shot.


Author's Note:

Something I decided to write when I should have been working on the final chapter of Promised Empire. One shot. It's a bit more 'grown up' than my usual stuff. I don't own Amarant Coral or Lani, or 'Sympathy For The Devil.' Takes place before Amarant's introduction in the game.

Sympathy For The Devil

"I hate Treno," Amarant said firmly as he and his sometimes partner, sometimes lover, Lani walked through the gates to the infamous 'City of Nobles.'

"You say that about every city we go to," Lani responded, rolling her eyes. She mimicked his deep, stony voice, puffing herself up in an attempt to look larger than she was and failing miserably. "'I hate Lindblum because it's too big and loud.' 'I hate Alexandria because it's too rustic and quaint.' 'I hate Dali because it's too small and ignorant.' 'I hate Daguerro because it's too bookish.' 'I hate Burmecia because it's too wet.' 'I hate Cleyra because it's too dry.' We haven't even _been_ to Cleyra and you hate it. So tell me, why do you hate Treno?"

Amarant just shrugged his shoulders and said, "Doesn't everyone?"

She glowered at him, not sure if he was making fun of her or not. He had that affect on her. She was never sure what he was up to, and never sure if he was always being funny or always being serious. She knew one thing about him, though. Amarant Coral could be a real dick.

She fingered the handle of her axe and wondered if being partners with him was really worth the frustration for the eighth time that day. He had a bounty on his head in Treno. They were in Treno. Put two and two together, and Lani could be rich _and_ be rid of an annoying partner. But even as she thought it, Amarant turned and gave her a 'look.' She couldn't see his eyes too well with all that hair in his face, but she knew from the way his jaw was set, the way he held himself that he was just saying 'Go for it. Just try it. I _dare_ you.'

Of course Lani would never try to turn Amarant in. She was pretty confident in her skills as a warrior, but not confident enough to take on the Flaming Amarant. Not without some kind of trick up her sleeve. And for taking down Treno's most wanted man, she would need one amazing trick to pull it off.

No, better to just be his partner, and put up with his annoying habits. If his rudeness got to be too much for her, she could always ditch him and let someone else try to collect the bounty on him.

Her hand dropped from her axe, and Amarant started forward. Lani had to almost trot to keep up with his long-legged stride. She felt like a little girl standing next to him some days, the way he towered over her, the way he infuriatingly ignored her skills as a bounty hunter at times, completely showing a lack of disrespect for her as he continuously left her behind and caught whatever prey they were hunting for on his own. As if she couldn't pull her own weight.

But right now Lani needed Amarant. They were in Treno to look up local bounty postings, ones that weren't for Amarant himself, and Lani had only been to Treno three times, and she had a terrible sense of direction. Without the large, blue-skinned monk, she'd probably get lost, and then jumped by a gang of pimps who'd want to force her into prostitution, and then she'd have to kill them, and then she'd probably end up with a local bounty on her head.

Or so Amarant would say whenever they were in this perpetually dark city.

So the two, side by side, wandered down the streets of Treno, taking back alleys and always watching their backs for would-be prize hunters and thieves. Treno was not a city to be taken lightly. Afer twenty minutes of walking, backtracking, and ducking in the shadows, the two finally stood on the doorstep to what appeared to be an inn. Amarant stepped up to the door, knocked three times, paused, then knocked twice, and said, "The night's cold, let me in."

The two waited for a minute, and the door opened to reveal a fat man wearing a greasy apron. He looked over Amarant and nodded. The monk stepped in and Lani moved to follow. The fat innkeeper slammed his hand down on the doorframe, barely missing her face. She gave a start and reached for her axe, and the innkeeper grunted, saying to Amarant, "The girl with you?"

"I am not a _girl_," Lani growled.

Amarant looked her over, and she felt herself redden with anger. He had that same condescending smirk on his face that he always did, but now it seemed enhanced, an expression saying, 'Oh really?' with overtones of proving her wrong.

"No," he said, and the innkeeper grunted and slammed the door in her face.

She let out an indignant squawk and began to pound on the door with her two little fists, hollering, "Damn you, Amarant! Let me in!"

This was _just_ like him. Leave her outside in the back alleys of Treno where who knew what level of perverts and thieves were housed. Well, she'd just give them a taste of her axe if they tried to get near her and—

Her eyes widened and a devilish smile came to her face as she pulled her axe from its resting place along her back and contemplated her nemesis, the locked, _wooden_ door. "You are so much firewood."

"I wouldn't do that," a voice from behind her said.

She stopped in mid-swing and spun around to look at the man who had said that. The alley was dark, but she had no problem making out the man who walked… no, _rolled_… into the torchlight to the front of the inn. He was an elderly man on a wheelchair, both of his legs missing. He only had one eye, and he had a crossbow propped in his lap. The man looked around sixty, maybe seventy, and probably would have been tall if not for his missing legs. Something about him gave Lani pause. This man, crippled as he was, was clearly dangerous. Dangerous enough to survive the streets of Treno in the condition he was in.

Even so, she straightened herself out and brandished her axe and said, "Yeah? And why not?"

"Because that's the bounty hunter's guild, you twit," the man said. "You go bangin' on their door with an axe, and you're gonna piss off a whole mess o' people. So don't do it."

"No one tells me what to do," she said indignantly.

"Fine. Chop down the door. See if I care if you lose your pretty little head. Waste of a pretty little thing like you if you ask me, but then again, you're not the type to ask much, are ya?"

She let out a huff of frustration and shoved her axe back into place. She hated being told what to do, especially when it was through an indirect threat. And she hated people who pretended to know so much about her, especially when they were right. Plunking herself down on the doorstep to the inn, she let out a moan. She hated waiting, too. It was just like Amarant to leave her out here. And that expression he'd given her. 'Wait outside like a good little girl.' He'd done this just to piss her off! If it wasn't for his extensive contacts throughout Treno, she would have ditched him then and there. Oh, how she couldn't wait for them to get back to Alexandria, where _her_ contacts reigned supreme. Then he'd be the one sitting on doorsteps and sulking. Or would he? Amarant Coral was not one to sulk. Not that Lani was sulking. Well, maybe just a little.

"Was that who I thought it was?" the old man asked, rolling closer to the door.

Lani rolled her eyes. Was he still there? Would he mind his own business? She answered, "Depends on who you thought it was."

"The Flaming Amarant," the old man said. "They say there's a bounty on him, and that he's also the most dangerous man to ever have walked the streets of Treno. Other than old Revenant himself. But then again, I suppose Amarant is made of tougher stuff than Revenant was."

Lani quirked an eyebrow at the old man, and she sighed. Well, she was stuck out here until Amarant concluded his business. Might as well indulge him. "Revenant, eh? And what was so tough about him?"

"Oh, he was Amarant's father. Not many people know about that, but I do. I was Revenant's partner. Name's Jacob, by the way."

Amarant's _father_? Lani's eyebrows shot up at that one. There had been a rumour going around, well, everywhere, that Amarant had been spawned on a rock by some sort of lizard and left to die, and had grown up into one of the meanest, toughest killers to ever have walked Gaia. Now _this_ was a story she had to hear. She introduced herself, "Name's Lani. How do you know that Amarant's father was this Revenant guy?"

"Oh, like I said, me an' Revenant were partners way back when. We were famous. If there was a bounty on someone, we'd hunt 'em down and bring 'em in and collect big on the prize. Weren't no one who was better'n us, no ma'am. We even got so good that some criminals up and pooled some money together and put a bounty up on _us._ Not that anyone'd collect on Revenant now."

An idea popped into Lani's head, and she just had to ask. "So, how much was that bounty? How much did the criminals hate you? Did they pool thousands just to get rid of you?"

Jacob shifted his crossbow deliberately and responded, "What, you think I'm stupid, girl? 'Hey, the old man's worth something, maybe I can cash in.' I'd like to direct yer attention to m'damn crossbow before y'think of doin' anything dumb. I ain't worth anythin' anymore. Haven't been worth anythin' since Revenant up and died, which was funny. Legend used to say that my old partner could survive _anything_. That's why the called him 'Revenant.' You could put arrows in him, stab him, chop him real good, and no matter what, he always got back up an' killed whoever tried to hurt him."

"But something killed him," Lani said.

"Of course something killed him. I've only said he's been dead like a hunnerd times now. For a girl as pretty as you are, you certainly are dumb."

"I am _not_ dumb!" she protested, almost reaching for her axe, but decided against it after a pointed look at Jacob's crossbow.

"Whatever you say, lass. Tell ya what. You keep yer trap shut, an' I'll tell you the story 'bout yer friend there, deal?"

She opened her mouth to say something, shut it, then nodded. Jacob smiled and said, "Not as dumb as I thought. Learnin' already. Kind of remind me of Amarant's mother."

She was about to ask who Amarant's mother was, then remembered the deal and thought better of it. Let the old coot get to it in his own time. At least she'd hear the story.

"Y'see, tough as ol' Revenant was, he had one sore weak spot," Jacob continued. "He had a thing fer women. Not a normal thing like normal men. No, he was a killer. A little bit crazy, y'know? As much good me an' him did for the world huntin' down the world's scum, Revenant was far worse than anyone we'd ever brought in. Y'see, he was a rapist. And more'n that, he always killed the women he had his way with. They'd say he'd lure 'em in, get 'em to trust him just fine, tell 'em how lovely their hair smelled, and then he'd rape 'em, and kill 'em. Revenant wasn't a good man, but I didn't know about that side o' him til much later. Y'see, as good as Revenant was with his little 'side job', he messed up one day. Had his way with a barmaid name o' Rosa, and then did a piss poor job o' killin' her. Guess he was rushed or somethin'. He got caught in the act by yours truly, though. I didn't know what the hell was goin' on at the time, so the bastard caught me by surprise. Cut me real good, and got away." Jacob paused, fingering his missing eye, and Lani gave a shudder. Why couldn't the man just cover that thing up with an eye patch or something? No one wanted to see that. "Y'see, he knew I wouldn't've approved o' that sorta thing, friends or not, partners or not. Y'treat a woman right, y'know? Sure, back in my day I mighta patted or pinched a few girls when they didn't want to be patted or pinched, but it was all harmless. But Revenant? After that day, I realized how evil he was, and I swore I'd bring him in.

"But then I found out that barmaid, Rosa, was pregnant. And I knew if she managed to give birth to that devil's spawn, and Revenant found out about it, then he'd come a'calling. So I used her as bait. I moved in with her, protected her, helped her in every way I could. She was scared silly, so she took my help as it was offered, no word o' protest. Most people back then was scared of Revenant, but that girl would go weak in the knees and fall and huddle up whenever she thought he was near. Not that he ever was. He'd made himself scarce in Treno. Maybe he was afraid of me, or maybe he was afraid of the law, I don't rightly know. But he didn't come back for a long while."

Jacob paused, and looked Lani over. "Say… you wouldn't happen to have somethin' to drink, would you? I'm mighty thirsty, and storytellin' is mighty harsh on the throat, y'know?"

Lani, completely entranced by the story of Amarant's past, quickly pulled a water skin from her belt that was filled with wine and tossed it to him. He caught it, putting his crossbow down as he did, and drank thirstily from it. Even as he did, Lani didn't give any thoughts to pulling her axe and getting him while he was distracted. All thoughts of bounties and annoyances were gone. When he finished, he let out a belch and then tossed it back to her. She caught it, noticed it was empty, and gave an inward shrug. A small price to pay for a good story.

"Rosa gave birth to Amarant, but he wasn't called that at the time. No, sir. Rosa named him 'Radley.' Means 'Red Meadow', on account o' his red hair. Radley was born a little funny, though. Bit bigger'n normal babies, and his skin colour was a little blue, as you can see. We always figured it was on account o' somethin' to do with Revenant. Maybe we were right, who knows? I knew Radley was in trouble, though, so I raised him like my own son. I knew Revenant would come for him an' his mother one day, so I trained that boy nice an' proper. Taught him how to fight with his hands and feet once he was old enough to walk, and taught him how to throw those pinwheels he likes carryin' around. Everythin' that Amarant is can be attributed to me, so whenever you hear someone praisin' his skill, you just think of ol' Jacob."

"So what happened next? Revenant came for him, didn't he?" Lani asked, eager to hear more.

"Didn't I tell you the deal was for you to be quiet?" She gave him a sheepish grin, and he sighed. "Well, y'did give me that mighty fine wine, so I'll forgive the offence this time. Besides, ye got a mighty fine voice, so who am I to try to silence it? So long as you ain't caterwauling and whining, y'can talk."

She wasn't sure whether to be happy or offended at the pass by the old man. She decided on neither and waited for the next piece of the story.

Jacob continued, "Radley was fourteen years old when Revenant came for 'im, and the kid was mighty angry at the world. Always was mean-spirited, but deep down, he was a good man. We managed to keep him out o' trouble, out o' real fights… But then Revenant came an' ruined all that good potential. Broke into the house late at night, an' knocked me around some, then tied me up with some wire and made me watch as he raped an' killed Rosa. I'll always remember that. Just as he cut her, he said to her, 'Your hair smells mighty nice.' I remember trying to break free from my bonds and only cuttin' my wrists and ankles up over the wire an' hurtin' myself for it. Radley was out at the time; he had a habit o' stayin' out late doin' who knows what, so he was spared seein' his mother done in like that. And just as Revenant was about to kill me dead, in stepped Radley from the kitchen door. He tossed a few steak knives into Revenant, and that son of a bitch, he musta been smart, cuz he knew he was in trouble. He jumped out the window and tried to get away, but Radley went after him. I was scared for the boy. He was a good fighter, but he'd never been in a real fight, ever. Just sparred a whole lot, y'know? Don't rightly know what happened next, but when Radley came back, he was all covered in blood and tol' me that Revenant wouldn't bother anyone ever again. I asked if he was sure, since Revenant had a history o' coming back an' all, and Radley tol' me that he was damn sure no one would ever have to worry about him. Then he cut me free, took up his mother's dead body an' buried her outside Treno's walls, in the sunlight. Nobles come to Treno because they think the novelty o' no sun is great. They like the clouds and Mist that block out the light, but the poor folk? They always wanted to see the sun, and Radley gave his mother that much.

"After that, Radley picked up an' left, and I hadn't seen nor heard from him since. But I been hearing stories. About the Flaming Amarant pissin' away all my damn training by becoming a damn bounty hunter like I was. Always had higher hopes for that boy. Like a guardsmen or bodyguard at least. Almost feels like he's disrespectin' me an' his dead mother, and it's frustrating." Jacob sighed, shaking his head, a tear coming to his own eye.

On impulse, Lani stood up, moved to him and hugged him tightly. She wasn't one for sentiment normally, but this was an exception. She knew all about how ungrateful Amarant could be, and for one moment, sympathized with him. And then heard Jacob's voice in her ear, "Your hair smells mighty nice."

The inn's door opened up behind her followed by the shout, "Lani! Down!"

She moved aside just in time, jerking away more out of reflex, and felt the edge of a knife cut into her side. She swore as she fell away from Jacob, and distantly heard the _whirr_ noise of one of Amarant's pinwheels, followed by a scream from the old man.

Lani scrambled back to her feet, placing a hand over her wound and regarded the scene. Jacob lay on the ground, clutching at the stump that had been his right arm and howled. Amarant stood at the doorway, another pinwheel in hand. The large man walked to Jacob and said, "I thought taking your legs would ensure you never bothered anyone again, old man. Guess I'll just have to take your arms, too."

And with that, Amarant threw his second pinwheel, which was followed by an even louder scream. Lani flinched at the sight, and the monk walked calmly away from the scene.

"What just happened?" Lani demanded, following after Amarant.

"I got us a job," Amarant said. "In Alexandria, for Queen Brahne. Apparently her daughter's gone rogue or something."

"I'm not talking about that!" Lani said. She pointed a finger to the figure of the howling form of Jacob. "What happened there?"

Amarant gave the sight a look, shrugged, and turned his back on it, walking away. "Just the first man I ever fought."


End file.
